As competition in the obesity drug space ramps up, Arena's marketing partner Eisai is rolling out a new savings card for weight-loss drug Belviq. And for the California drugmaker, that means good news and bad news for its revenue outlook.

With a marketing push from partner Eisai behind it, Arena Pharmaceuticals more than doubled the revenue it earned from weight-loss drug Belviq in the last quarter but reported a Q3 loss of $10.7 million, or $0.05 per share.

Orexigen Therapeutics is on the verge of FDA approval for its obesity drug, after several long years of delay and frustration. But despite its late-to-the-party status--it's the third weight-loss pill in a new generation of treatments--it may end up winning the popularity contest.

Japanese drugmaker Eisai, which is partnered with Arena Pharmaceuticals on the weight-loss pill Belviq, plans to add another 200 contract sales reps to its team. On top of a new television ad push begun last month, the sales-force expansion is a one-two punch aimed at keeping prescription trends on the upswing.

When it comes to addressing the market, pharma has three P's, according to Eisai's Michael O'Brien: physician, payer and patient. And as VP of specialty marketing, O'Brien is looking to hit each of them in promoting the recently launched weight-loss drug Belviq.

Eisai gave Arena Pharmaceuticals' obesity drug Belviq another vote of confidence. The Japanese drugmaker, already marketing the drug in the U.S., signed up to promote it in most other global markets, too. And it gave Arena a $60 million up-front payment to seal the deal.

THE LIBRARY: WHITEPAPER

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